The Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority will increase the annual amount it pays the city of Gary for airport fire protection to $370,000 under an agreement approved this week.
The agreement is in line with a key recommendation made four years ago by the Distressed Unit Appeals Board, which oversaw city of Gary finances in the years it sought relief from state tax caps, according to Gary/Chicago International Airport Interim Director Steve Landry.
This year and last year the airport had paid the city $185,000 for fire protection. The $370,000 will fully cover the salaries of all Gary Fire Department personnel providing protection from an airport-owned facility on airport property, Landry said. The airport also owns the response vehicles and equipment based at the airport.
The increase was anticipated and will be covered by the 2013 budget recently approved by the airport authority, Landry said.
Gary Fire Chief Teresa Everett could not be reached for comment.
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